Vocabulary
Expedite meaning: make a process happen sooner
A request can be moving too slowly. When someone takes action to help it move sooner, they may expedite it.
Use expedite when you mean to make a process or task happen sooner, without saying that it is already complete.
Read and practice
Read the examples and try the written questions in this guide. Listening recordings are not available for this lesson yet.
Try the written questions
expedite /ˈek.spə.daɪt/
The short answer
Expedite means to make something happen sooner or more quickly, especially a process that is already underway.
The team expedited the order after the customer explained the deadline.
Why it works: The team helped the order move faster. The sentence does not say that the order has arrived.
3 more examples
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The manager asked the supplier to expedite the replacement parts.
The supplier is being asked to send the parts sooner.
Not this:The manager asked the supplier to
finish the replacement parts. What changes: Finish means complete the work. Expedite means make the process move faster. -
Please expedite the review if the client needs an answer today.
The review should be handled sooner, but it still needs to be done properly.
Not this:Please
cancel the reviewif the client needs an answer today. What changes: Cancel stops the process. Expedite keeps it moving and asks for greater speed. -
An expedited passport service may reduce the waiting time.
Expedited describes a service designed to process an application more quickly.
Not this:
A completed passport servicemay reduce the waiting time. What changes: Completed is not the usual description for this service. Expedited describes its faster timing.
Read the full guide
Use expedite when speed is the point. It usually takes an object: expedite a request, a review, a shipment, or a payment. It is more common in work messages than hurry or speed up.
What expedite means
Expedite means make something happen faster. It is useful when a process has started but needs to move sooner because of a deadline or an urgent need.
The hospital expedited the test results for the doctor.
Use it with a process
You can expedite a request, an application, a review, a delivery, or a shipment. These are things that normally pass through several steps before they are ready.
We need to expedite the visa application before the conference.
It does not mean finish
If you expedite an application, you make the application move faster. You do not say that the application has been approved. Use complete or finish only when the work has ended.
Expedite the report means help the report move faster. Finish the report means complete the report.
How to say expedite
Expedite has three syllables: EK-spuh-dyte. Keep the strongest beat on EK. The final sound rhymes with light.
Could you expedite the shipment?
Choose it in context
A customer needs a replacement item before a trip. The store asks the warehouse to send it by a faster service. Is expedite a good choice?
Yes. The warehouse can expedite the shipment because the aim is to make delivery happen sooner.
Before you go
Remember this
Use expedite for making a process happen sooner. It often appears with request, review, application, shipment, delivery, or payment. It tells us about speed, not completion.
Practice with the written examples
You can practice with the written questions in the Learn tab. Each answer includes an explanation.
Try the written questionsListening test not available yet
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Try the written questionsQuestions about "Expedite meaning: make a process happen sooner"
What does expedite mean?
Expedite means to make a process or task happen sooner or more quickly.
The manager asked the supplier to expedite the replacement parts.
Does expedite mean finish?
No. Expedite means make something move faster. The work may still need more steps before it is finished.
The manager asked the supplier to finish the replacement parts.
Can I expedite a shipment?
Yes. You can expedite a shipment when you arrange for it to be sent or delivered sooner.
Please expedite the review if the client needs an answer today.
Is expedite a formal word?
Yes. Formal means more common in work or official messages. Expedite is common in customer service, travel, and shipping; in everyday speech, people often say speed up.
Please cancel the review if the client needs an answer today.
How do you pronounce expedite?
Say EK-spuh-dyte. The stress is on the first syllable. Use the lesson examples to choose the meaning and sentence pattern that fit your context.
An expedited passport service may reduce the waiting time.
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